Billy Joel - Turnstiles (1976)

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Front cover at Astor Place Subway Station.
Photo: Jerry Abramowtiz.

Billy Joel's fourth solo album Turnstiles, released in 1976, marked an important turning point in his progression as a songwriter and in his career. In the preceding years from 1971 to 1975, Los Angeles-based producers had tried to mold him into the next great "singer-songwriter" surrounding him with session musicians on his albums. They failed to recognize that Billy was much more than that. In 1975, Billy left the Los Angeles music scene to return to his roots, to New York. He did so after reading the famous Daily News headline "Ford To City: Drop Dead," referring to the federal government's decision to not provide financial assistance to a cash-strapped New York City. A proud New Yorker, Billy returned to his home state and city. The move prompted some of his most inspiring songs including "Say Goodbye to Hollywood," "Summer, Highland Falls," and the classic "New York State of Mind."

After using studio musicians on his first three albums, Billy wanted to use his "own guys" for Turnstiles, the guys who knew the material first-hand and had toured with him night after night (Liberty DeVitto, Russell Javors, Doug Stegmeyer, Howie Emerson, and Richie Cannata). But Columbia executives and Caribou management preferred that Billy work with Elton John's band. Billy tried briefly, even recording sessions at Caribou Ranch in Colorado, but it did not work in Billy's mind and ears. So he went into Ultrasonic Studios in Hempstead, New York with his own guys and produced Turnstiles himself.

While Billy may not be a world-class producer, he made the right move. The songs on Turnstiles have an integrity and cohesiveness that was sometimes missing on his prior albums. Later on 1981's Songs In The Attic, Billy would re-release live versions of four songs from Turnstiles ("Miami 2017," "Summer, Highland Falls," "Say Goodbye to Hollywood," "You're My Home," and "I've Loved These Days"), imbuing them with even more energy and vitality

Turnstiles may represent his best album lyrically too. As Damon Linker wrote in a 2014 article in The Week, "Let Us Now Praise Billy Joel":

"But much of the time his lyrics are perfectly respectable and packed solid with smart-ass attitude and instantly memorable turns of phrase. And occasionally — the best example is 1976's Turnstiles — they achieve something greater. I can think of no album of the mid-'70s that does a better job of distilling that moment's gloomy, wistful mood and transfiguring it into art. The aching loss of "Say Goodbye to Hollywood"; the melancholy meditation on the era's lurches between sadness and euphoria in "Summer, Highland Falls"; the vividly evocative tribute to the "New York State of Mind"; the post-'60s cynicism of "Angry Young Man"; the strung-out blend of bleary-eyed excess and nostalgia that infuses "I've Loved These Days" — all of it is pop music of the first rank."

Although not a commercial hit, Turnstiles is one Billy's best albums, marking his return to New York, signaling his independence, and foreshadowing the themes and styles that would make The Stranger and 52nd Street such huge successes. Some fans and critics consider Turnstiles to be Billy's best album, even better than The Stranger, at least from a lyrical and musical point of view, even if the production was not as sophisticated as the Billy Joel albums produced by Phil Ramone. It is probably his most underrated album.

So many faces in and out of my life
Some will last some will just be now and then
Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes
I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again

- From "Say Goodbye to Hollywood"

Billy went on an extended tour to promote Turnstiles, giving some of his best live performances and culminating in three sold-out shows at New York's fabled Carnegie Hall in June 1977. One of Billy's Carnegie Hall shows was recorded and several songs released as Live At Carnegie Hall with the 35th Anniversary Edition of The Stranger. It was at these Carnegie Hall shows that producer Phil Ramone heard Billy and his band live for an extended period, and became interested in working with him. Soon thereafter they collaborated on The Stranger.

Billy and his management group also released a live concert video on VHS, Billy Joel Tonight, a recording of his concerts on December 5 and 6, 1976 at the Palmer Auditorium at Connecticut College. These concerts were recorded before The Stranger was released, and the VHS features Billy performing ten of his earlier songs. The video was released by Time Life Video but has long been out of print, and hard to find. Four of the songs recorded at these concerts were put on a promotional album entitled Souvenir, which also had studio versions of some songs. Another concert from October 2, 1976 at the Capitol Theater in Passaic, New Jersey was recorded on video and can be seen here, albeit the video quality is poor and it cuts off at the end. Billy entertains the audience not only with song, but with his sense of humor.

* * * * *

The photos for the Turnstiles album cover were shot at the The Astor Place subway station at 8th Street and Fourth Avenue in New York.* The people on the cover are meant to symbolize or represent the songs on the album. The dressy couple on the left symbolize "I've Loved These Days." The African American man in the back symbolizes "Prelude/Angry Young Man," the man with the books in his arms represents "James." The girl with the headphones on her head (the 1970s version of earbuds) symbolizes "All You Wanna Do Is Dance." The man in the leather jacket and travel bag symbolizes "Say Goodbye to Hollywood." And the grandmother and her son (which is actually Billy's stepson Sean) symbolizes "Miami 2017." Credit goes to Bob Egan of Popspots for finding and photographing the locations of Billy Joel's album covers.

* * * * *

Legendary DJ Allison Steele also interviewed Billy in 1976 after Turnstiles (click on "Video & Audio" tab above) and Billy was interviewed on WNEW just a week before his June 1977 Carnegie Hall concert and before recording The Stranger.

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Billy Joel (1976). Photo by Michael Putland.

The famous Daily News headline which prompted Billy to return to New York.

Embed from Getty Images

Billy at The Bottom Line (1976)

Billy and band at Caribou Ranch. Photo: Richie Cannata.

View image | gettyimages.com

"It's either sadness or euphoria"

Turnstiles back cover (1976)

Songs

Say Goodbye to Hollywood

Summer, Highland Falls

All You Wanna Do Is Dance

New York State of Mind

Say Goodbye to Hollywood

Summer, Highland Falls

All You Wanna Do Is Dance

New York State of Mind

James

Angry Young Man

I've Loved These Days

Miami 2017

Souvenir (album)

James

Prelude/Angry Young Man

I've Loved These Days

Miami 2017

Covers are fictional except for "Say Goodbye to Hollywood," "James" and "Souvenir" (album). "New York State of Mind" cover is from the book.

Lyrics

Say Goodbye to Hollywood

Bobby's drivin' through the city tonight
Through the lights in a hot new rent-a-car
He joins the lovers in his heavy machine
It's a scene down on Sunset Boulevard

Say goodbye to Hollywood
Say goodbye, my baby
Say goodbye to Hollywood
Say goodbye, my baby

Johnny's takin' care of things for a while
And his style is so right for troubadours
They got him sitting with his back to the door
Now he won't be my fast gun anymore

Say goodbye to Hollywood
Say goodbye, my baby
Say goodbye to Hollywood
Say goodbye, my baby

Movin' on is a chance
You take any time you try to stay together
Say a word out of line
And you find that the friends you had
Are gone forever, forever

So many faces in and out of my life
Some will last some will just be now and then
Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes
I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again

Say goodbye to Hollywood
Say goodbye, my baby
Say goodbye to Hollywood
Say goodbye, my baby

Movin' on is a chance you take
Any time you try to stay, together, whoa
Say a word out of line
And you find that the friends you had
Are gone forever, forever

So many faces in and out of my life
Some will last, some will just be now and then
Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes
I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again

Say goodbye to Hollywood
Say goodbye, my baby
Say goodbye to Hollywood
Say goodbye, my baby

Summer, Highland Falls

They say that these are not the best of times
But they're the only times I've ever known
And I believe there is a time for meditation
In cathedrals of our own

Now, I have seen that sad surrender in my lover's eyes
And I can only stand apart and sympathize
For we are always what our situations hand us
It's either sadness or euphoria

So we'll argue and we'll compromise
And realize that nothing's ever changed
For all our mutual experience,
Our separate conclusions are the same

Now we are forced to recognize our inhumanity
Our reason coexists with our insanity
And though we choose between reality and madness
It's either sadness or euphoria

How thoughtlessly we dissipate our energies
Perhaps we don't fulfill each other's fantasies
And as we stand upon the ledges of our lives,
With our respective similarities
It's either sadness or euphoria

All You Wanna Do Is Dance

Oh, baby, you don't get turned on by the radio
Oh, baby, you got nothing to play on your stereo
“Why don't the Beatles get back together?”
“Why don't nobody sing of romance?”
Oh, baby, all you wanna do is dance

Oh, baby, I think you are lost in the Seventies
Oh, baby, “The music she ain't what she used to be”
You don't understand what they're saying,
You've given it every chance
Oh, baby, all you wanna do is dance

Well you wish you were back in the good old daysv When tomatoes were cheaper
And you never heard the words of your favorite songs
Through a three inch speaker

And you never messed around with dangerous drugs
You were all getting sick on beer
And you didn't get any unless you went steady
and made out for a year

Well you can hide away honey in your rock ‘n roll dreams
And you can stand by your blue suede shoes
But the party is over and
I'm getting tired of waiting for you

Oh, baby, “Where are the oldies they used to play?”
Oh, baby, you want to crawl back into yesterday
You don't want to deal with the future
You don't want to make any plans
Oh, baby, all you wanna do is dance
Oh, baby, all you wanna do is dance

New York State of Mind

Some folks like to get away
Take a holiday from the neighborhood
Hop a flight to Miami Beach or to Hollywood
But I'm taking a Greyhound
On the Hudson River Line
I'm in a New York state of mind

I've seen all the movie stars
In their fancy cars and their limousines
Been high in the Rockies under the evergreens
But I know what I’m needing
And I don't want to waste more time
I'm in a New York state of mind

It was so easy living day by day
Out of touch with the rhythm and blues
But now I need a little give and take
The New York Times, The Daily News

It comes down to reality
Well it's fine with me ‘cause I've let it slide
Don't care if it's Chinatown or on Riverside
I don’t have any reasons
I've left them all behind
I'm in a New York state of mind

It was so easy living day by day
Out of touch with the rhythm and blues
But now I need a little give and take
The New York Times, The Daily News

It comes down to reality
Well it's fine with me 'cause I've let it slide
I don’t care if it's Chinatown or on Riversidev I don’t have any reasons
I’ve left them all behind
I’m in a New York state of mind

I'm just taking a Greyhound on the Hudson River Line
‘Cause I'm in a New York state of mind

James

James, we were always friends
From our childhood days
And we made our plans
And we had to go our separate ways.
I went on the road,
You pursued an education.

James, do you like your life?
Can you find release?
And will you ever change?
Will you ever write your masterpiece?

Are you still in school?
Living up to expectations?
James, you were so relied upon
Everybody knows how hard you tried.

Hey, oh, look at what a job you've done
Carrying the weight of family pride.

James, you've been well behaved
You've been working hard
But will you always stay
Someone else's dream of who you are?

Do what's good for you
Or you're not good for anybody
James

I went on the road,
You pursued an education.
James, how you gonna know for sure?
Everything was so well organized.
Hey, oh, now everything is so secure
And everybody else is satisfied.

James, do you like your life?
Can you find release?
And will you ever change?
When will you write your masterpiece?

Do what's good for you
Or you're not good for anybody
James

Prelude, Angry Young Man

There's a place in the world for the angry young man
With his working class ties and his radical plans
He refuses to bend, he refuses to crawl
And he's always at home with his back to the wall
And he's proud of his scars and the battles he's lost
And he struggles and bleeds as he hangs on the cross
And he likes to be known as the angry young man

Give a moment or two to the angry young man
With his foot in his mouth and his heart in his hand
He's been stabbed in the back, he's been misunderstood
It's a comfort to know his intentions are good
And he sits in a room with a lock on the door
With his maps and his medals laid out on the floor
And he likes to be known as the angry young man

I believe I've passed the age
Of consciousness and righteous rage
I found that just surviving was a noble fight
I once believed in causes too
I had my pointless point of view
And life went on no matter who was wrong or right

There's always a place for the angry young man,
With his fist in the air and his head in the sand
And he's never been able to learn from mistakes
So he can't understand why his heart always breaks
And his honor is pure and his courage as well
And he's fair and he's true and he's boring as hell
And he'll go to the grave as an angry old man

And there's always a place for the angry young man
With his working class ties and his radical plansv He refuses to bend, he refuses to crawl
And he's always at home with his back to the wall
And he's proud of his scars and the battles he's lost
And he struggles and bleeds as he hangs on the cross
And he likes to be known as the angry young man.

I’ve Loved These Days

Now we take our time so nonchalant
And spend our nights so bon vivant
We dress our days in silken robes
The money comes the money goes
We know it's all a passing phase

We light our lamps for atmosphere
And hang our hopes on chandeliers
We're going wrong we're gaining weight
We're sleeping long and far too late
And so it's time to change our ways
But I've loved these days

Now as we indulge in things refined
We hide our hearts from harder times
A string of pearls, a foreign car
Oh we can only go so far
On caviar and cabernet

We drown our doubts in dry champagne
And soothe our souls with fine cocaine
I don't know why I even care
We get so high and get nowhere
We'll have to change our jaded ways
But I've loved these days

So, before we end and then begin
We'll drink a toast to how it's been
A few more hours to be complete
A few more nights on satin sheets
A few more times that I can say
I've loved these days

Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)

I've seen the lights go out on Broadway
I saw the Empire State laid low
And life went on beyond the Palisades
They all bought Cadillacs
And left there long ago

We held a concert out in Brooklyn
To watch the Island bridges blow
They turned our power down
And drove us underground
But we went right on with the show

I've seen the lights go out on Broadway
I saw the ruins at my feet
You know we almost didn't notice it
We'd seen it all the time on 42nd Street

They burned the churches up in Harlem
Like in that Spanish Civil War
The flames were everywhere
But no one really cared
It always burned up there before

I've seen the lights go down on Broadway
I watched the mighty skyline fall.
The boats were waiting at the Battery
The union went on strike
They never sailed at all

They sent a carrier out from Norfolk
And picked the Yankees up for free
They said that Queens could stay
They blew the Bronx away
And sank Manhattan out at sea

You know those lights were bright on Broadway
But that was so many years ago
Before we all lived here in Florida
Before the Mafia took over Mexico

There are not many who remember
They say a handful still survive
To tell the world about
The way the lights went out
And keep the memory alive

Songlist (click on song name to go to song page)

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1. Say Goodbye to Hollywood (4:36)
2. Summer, Highland Falls (3:15)
3. All You Wanna Do Is Dance (3:40)
4. New York State of Mind (5:58)
5. James (3:53)
6. Prelude/Angry Young Man (5:17)
7. I've Loved These Days (4:31)
8. Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway) (5:12)

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Stream - Turnstiles

Click on title to open song page in new window.
1. Say Goodbye to Hollywood (4:36)
2. Summer, Highland Falls (3:15)
3. All You Wanna Do Is Dance (3:40)
4. New York State of Mind (5:58)
5. James (3:53)
6. Prelude/Angry Young Man (5:17)
7. I've Loved These Days (4:31)
8. Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway) (5:12)

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Video Album - Turnstiles
Click on title to open song page in new window.
1. Say Goodbye to Hollywood (4:36)
2.   Summer, Highland Falls (3:15)
3. All You Wanna Do Is Dance (3:40)
4.   New York State of Mind (5:58)
5.   James (3:53)
6.   Prelude/Angry Young Man (5:17)
7.   I've Loved These Days (4:31)
8.   Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway) (5:12)